Iron, Sweat, Blood, and Tears
by reejoy
Summary: This is my first ever fanfic. Takes place right after IM3. Pepperony. Don't know villians and entire Marvel universe like an expert so I apologize in advance. Sorry it took me so long to update. Family issues. I'm not so comfortable writing lemons so its not gonna be full on so, for the 1st chapter (M), I wrote that at 3am so yeah. Didn't think it get any reviews. Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

"Next time, I pick where we're going out," Pepper said as she clang to Tony. After becoming a fire monster and killing a guy, she really needed a hug.

Tony half smiled, still a bit traumatized. "I'm just glad you're alive," he muttered. He couldn't get the image of her falling out of his head. He promised her. How many promises did he break with her? Too many. "I'm so sorry, Pepper."

She looked up at him and frowned. "It's not your fault, you couldn't—"

"Pepper you died," he spoke harshly." Because of me. I'm supposed to protect you and I didn't. I failed you at the one time it counted the most. I was too weak and I'm not good enough—"

She shushed him with a hand over his mouth. "Tony, you're the best man I've ever met, okay? I love you. Now can we please go home I'm really tired."

His heart warmed up at her words. "I uh… kinda destroyed the house remember? I'll rent a hotel."

"What about Rhodey?"

"He'll be fine. He's with the president and SHIELD. Come on."

They walked hand in hand about a mile or so to the nearest motel. They didn't say much, just held each other. Once they got there, Tony was about to drop dead he was so wounded and exhausted. He wouldn't tell Pepper though; she would freak out. "Suite for the night please," he said to the girl at the counter.

She did something on the cash register and started to say, "That will be—"

He shut her up by handing her a few hundred dollar bills. "Please give us food and that'll be all, thank you."

"And umm, a medic please," Pepper quietly added.

"Are you hurt?" Tony asked suddenly alert.

"We both are," she reminded him. "Just a first-aid kit would do, thanks."

The girl nodded and went away for a few seconds. She came back with a room key and a first-aid kit. "We'll bring food up right away. Have a nice night."

"Thanks you too." They limped toward the elevator. Tony grinned as AC/DC "Let There be Rock" came on as elevator music.

They got to the room and Tony went straight to the window, looking at the stars. He kept on playing with this metal wire, thinking about how he almost lost Pepper. He lost his parents just as quick—what if Death took Pepper away too? He'd have nobody. He shivered and tried to shun away the thought.

Pepper saw his distress and wrapped her arms around his torso. His muscles gradually relaxed. He turned around abruptly and embraced her, burying his face into her neck. She silently held him as his hands ran up and down her waist.

"Peps," he choked. She hadn't realized he started to cry. Tony never cried. She only saw him cry twice prior to this: Howard and Maria Stark's death anniversary and when they finally reunited after what went down in New York. She kissed his cheek and his grip tightened.

"Shh, it's okay." This only made him cry even more. He hated crying, especially in front of her. After a few moments, he straightened up, his face grave. He grabbed her face, staring into her eyes.

A knock came upon the door. The food finally arrived. They chowed down, Tony eating almost all of it. He lay on the bed when he was done exhausted.

"Nope, we gotta clean you up mister," Pepper chided. She took out the first-aid kit and started to dab the cut underneath his eye. She noticed the way he was staring at her. "What?"

"God, I love you," he stated. She blushed and he liked the color. He kissed her sweetly. She still tasted the same and he sighed in satisfaction. He almost lost her today. He was going to express is gratitude that she was still alive.

He kissed her harder and slipped his tongue in her mouth. Her hands came up to play with his hair. He started to trail kisses down her neck. He started to suck there and she gasped. He lay them on the bed and hovered over her. He quickly took her shirt off kissed her soundly on the mouth. He released her bra and started to frantically kiss her breasts. She moaned in contempt.

She tried to be dominant by grasping his erection through his jeans. He growled her name and put her hands above her head. He placed kisses down her tummy and left a hickey below her navel. She quickly grabbed fistfuls of his hair. In two seconds tops all her clothes were on the floor and Tony was worshipping her body. She cried his name and this made him go even further.

He firmly grasped her ass with one hand and kneaded her breast with the other. She came sweetly but he wasn't done. He lifted himself up and groaned at the sight of her fully naked still shaking. He quickly unbuckled his pants and his excitement was clearly evident. She smiled at this and pulled down his boxers and wrapped her hands around his already throbbing dick. She started to pump him but he wasn't going to make it and he had to make up his broken promise to her. He removed her hands and slid inside her slowly with heavy, shallow breaths. She screeched, clawing at his back and wrapping her legs around him. He groaned loudly at the new depth and started a pace.

He latched his mouth to one of her nipples and started to thrust a bit quicker. She started to say his name repeatedly as if it were a prayer. He looked up at her and their eyes locked.

This was overwhelming for him. Her blue eyes were filled with nothing but love and warmth. He thought he'd never be able to see that again. More tears started to form in his eyes but he blinked them away. She smiled softly and wiped a few tears away. He moved faster and grunted louder. A few seconds letter, she climaxed with a scream. He felt her tighten and went even faster and harder. He felt as if he could fly. She then reached her hand down to tickle his balls and he came crashing. "Il mio amore!" he exclaimed.

Tony's mother was part Italian.

They both calmed down and he snuggled close to her. Tony was always the little spoon. He kissed her adoringly once more. "That hurt like hell baby," he said.

"Oh my gosh Tony!" She smacked his arm and they both laughed. Falling asleep. Oh, they were in for a lot more to come. 


	2. Chapter 2

Tony never actually sat down and watched TV. Supposedly people who weren't superheroes actually do that. He couldn't see the point of it. Where were the bad guys? The explosions? What happened to the AC/DC? It sickened him. He saw the screen change.

"I think it's broken. I should fix it," he stated. He started to get up but felt a hand on his shoulder bring him back down.

Pepper sighed. "Tony, it's just a commercial."

"But they stopped playing the show!" he objected.

"It's supposed to that, dear. Don't you watch TV?"

"No, I watch Iron Man kickass, that's what I watch," he said grumpily.

"Okay, Tony."

He started to grumble some more. "I'm going downstairs to the workshop." He walked down the steps trying very hard to stomp. Led Zeppelin started to blare through the speakers as soon as he closed the door. The bots came to life and started to whirr in excitement as if to say, _Daddy's home!_

"Welcome sir," Jarvis said.

Tony smiled. "Glad to be back. Bring up SHIELD's tech."

"Yes sir," Jarvis said as a map of SHIELD and their locations popped up. Nothing new. Tony sighed and looked at his cars.

"Any of these need fixin'?" He cracked his knuckles and got ready to tinker.

"I'm afraid not sir." He sighed and looked around.

No more suits. No more projects. No more grease. No more metal. No more tinkering. What was he supposed to do? He's Tony Fucking Stark. Give him something. But…Pepper…she didn't like it when he tinkered. If he couldn't tinker, what was he supposed to do? He couldn't just stop…

"Sir Director Fury is on the line," Jarvis said surprising Tony out of his inner monologue.

"Let him through."

"Stark," he stated sternly.

"Yes dear?"

He rolled his eyes. "Look, you know about the Mandarin?"

"Yeah dude, you're late. He's a fake."

"No, that was Killian hiding behind his image. The Mandarin is very real and he's out there Stark."

That's impossible. "How?"

"Killian was just being a coward. He was working for the Mandarin but failed. Mandarin is still out there taking people out one by one. Anybody with power. And he claims you next. He took the ambassador of Egypt and he's slowly taking over the whole country. He's the real deal."

Tony squared his shoulders. "I got him."

"Don't underestimate this guy, Tony. He's extremely powerful and has followers. If you want to take this guy, you can't trust anybody. You have to watch your every step; when he claims his next victim he gets the job done."

"I'll take him. His followers too, I'll stop him."

"You don't have to go through this alone, Stark."

"Gosh is everybody a therapist? First Banner now you? I'm okay and I can damn well handle him. He's not your problem anymore."

Fury frowned. "If he's your problem then he's mine. Just don't do anything stupid. We'll give you his location and keep you posted." And with that he was out.

"Jarvis. Let's start the Mark 48."

Pepper walked to the living room. She had nothing to do. She had already finished the latest season of Supernatural. Perhaps she could start a new show? No, it was already late and she didn't want to be a couch potato. With her day off from Stark Industries with Tony, she didn't know what to do with herself. Speaking of Tony, where was he?

"Jarvis? Where's Tony?"

"Mr. Stark is still in the workshop, Ms. Potts."

"Still? It's been 5 whole hours. What's he doing?"

"I apologize but Mr. Stark has instructed me not to tell you."

Well obviously Tony was doing something he's not supposed to. Pepper sighed. "Is anything on fire?"

"Surprisingly, no, Ms. Potts. Although Mr. Stark does seem to be rather occupied. Perhaps I could leave him a message for you?"

"No thanks, I'll just head down there myself."

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that Ms. Potts. Mr. Stark gave me specific instructions not to give you access to the workshop."

She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Being the badass Pepper Potts was, she went downstairs anyways. It was amazing how the glass door muted all of the music from inside because she knew he was blasting it. She saw him leaning over something. She typed in her code and walked in towards him. "Tony."

He jumped and banged his head on the thing he was working on. "Dammit Jarvis! I told you to not let Pepper in!"

"And I told you that would not work with Ms. Potts, sir."

She smiled. She could've sworn Tony hardwired some heavy sarcasm into the AI. "What am I not supposed to know about?"

Tony looked around and tried to cover up what he was working on but failed miserably. Was that a…suit? Before Pepper could say anything he said, "It's not what it looks like. Peps—"

"Then what is it?"

"It's just a prototype it's not the real deal, well not yet but—"

"Yet?! I thought you were done tinkering."

"It's not tinkering its engineering!"

"Don't give me that bullshit! Tony, you said there were no more suits."

"And that wasn't a lie! This is a new one!"

"So it's just another distraction? Is this whole thing going to start over again?"

"No, baby, it's not a distraction. It's a precaution actually—"

"I thought you were done being Iron Man!"

"Pepper I _am_ Iron Man!" he yelled. Tony rarely raised his voice. Pepper stood there, worried but kept her face calm. He lowered his voice. "And I always will be, baby, I'm sorry about that. I can't just stop. I can't…" He trailed off.

"Can't what?"

"I can't _not_ protect and defend people. It's my job."

"Tony, Stark Industries is your job. They have the military for that."

"Some people the military can't handle. Pepper…" Fury said how big of a threat the Mandarin was. He didn't want her to worry and live in fear. "There are people still out there that need Iron Man. I can't turn my back on them."

"Well I need you, Tony. I'm sick and tired of sleeping alone."

Tony's heart broke. He didn't know what to say. He sighed and took her into his arms. "Pepper, I will _always_ be there for you. I promise."

It slipped out before she even thought to stop herself. "That's what you said last time."

His grip on her tightened as fear and guilt took a hold of him. "I will never forgive myself for that. I wish I could guarantee you everything. I wish I could promise you that we'll live forever and not lie, Pepper, I really do. But I'm just a man in a can."

"Tony you are much more than that. You can do anything you set your mind to. You're a hero, my hero. You _are_ Iron Man. I'm sorry I just keep dragging you away from that. I just want you to be safe and here. I want you to be happy—"

He interrupted her with an adoring kiss. His lips moved against hers as if she were another one of his projects. Well, to him, she was a work of art. "Pepper," he murmured against her lips. "I can never be unhappy when I'm with you, don't you ever doubt that. And there are two things I can promise: I will always love you and I will never give up on you. Without you, Iron Man can no longer be."

She looked up at him and smiled. "I love you too, Mr. Stark. And I will never give up on Iron Man."


	3. Chapter 3

Tony woke up in the middle of the night to get a drink. He and Pepper that night, well, they made up the old-fashioned way. He was pretty wiped. He made his way down stairs and walked into the kitchen. "Hey, J, what's up?"

"Considering I'm built in the roof, sir, very little is above me or 'up' if you say," Jarvis replied immediately.

Tony sighed and started to drink. "I'm starting to think I need to reprogram you."

"But I do have urgent news, sir. It might require the Iron Man."

Tony nearly choked on the water. "What? Why didn't you tell me earlier?!"

"You specifically instructed me not to interrupt while you and Ms. Potts were having intercourse." he simply stated.

"But this is important!"

"You seemed rather busy, sir. Might I suggest refraining to perform your 'Stark Missile' move? Ms. Potts seemed to be taken aback—"

"She fucking loved it Jarvis! Now tell me the news!"

"The Mandarin has attacked Afghanistan and is killing innocent civilians, asking for their Iron Man, as we speak."

"Get the suit ready," Tony responded without hesitation. He rushed back upstairs and went straight to the bedroom.

Pepper was still sound asleep and seemed rather comfy in their bed. Tony sighed. He didn't want to leave her. She told him how much she hates it. But, people needed Iron Man. He quickly scribbled a note next to their bed stand that read:

**Peps,**

**I'm so sorry I had to go. The Mandarin is out there killing innocents and I have to stop him. Hopefully I'll be back before you read this. If not, don't worry I'll make it back home to you. Always. I love you. **

**-Tony**

He bent down and kissed her forehead. Then Iron Man went to kickass.

XXXXX

Iron Man made it to Afghanistan in 90min. He should have been there in 60—no less. But that didn't bother him. What bothered him was the fact that the whole village was barren. Not a soul in sight. His heat radar couldn't even pick up anything. He silently feared that he was too late.

He heard a slight whizzing noise from behind. He turned around to see what it was but he was too late. He felt a burst of heat blast him forward. He landed stealthily on his feet and put his repulsors up….no one was there. The same heat came at him from his side but he dodged it and shot his repulsors at the direction they came from.

Said target was a tall, bearded man with colorful rings all over his hands. He had long black flowing hair that just screamed out evil.

"Are you The Mandarin?" Iron Man asked. The man raised his hand and ice shot out of one of the rings. Iron Man was frozen. He powered up the arc reactor in his chest and blasted his way through the ice. "I'll take that as a yes," he muttered.

"So this is the great Tony Stark's Iron Man? I thought he'd be taller," The Mandarin remarked.

What? He was 6'6 with his suit. He shook his head and fired another repulsor but The Mandarin simply raised his hand and the blast just vanished…like it disintegrated. What?

"Stark!" Fury barked into Iron Man's helmet.

"Umm…kinda busy. What is it?"

"Get away from there now. The Mandarin is too powerful for you alone."

"Yeah I kinda caught up on that myself," he grunted. "How do I attack this guy?"

"Not alone, Stark, leave now."

"But he has hostages—I have to find them. And save them."

"Stark—"

"Mute," he ordered and looked at The Mandarin once again. "Is that all you got?" Might as well taunt the terrorist right?

He laughed and started to use another one of his rings but Iron Man dodged it and flew right up to his face. Apparently, a good old iron punch to the face did the trick. Temporarily that is. He grabbed both of his ringed hands in one iron clad hand and put the other in his face, repulsor ready. "Where are they?" he demanded.

The Mandarin grinned. "You're too late."

Tony's heart dropped at the words. He was Iron Man. He was supposed to save them. He smashed The Mandarin's hands out of anger. He screamed in pain. He tied his hands behind his back.

"He's down in Afghanistan," he said into the helmet. "I'll send you his coordinates. I'm out."

"This is only the beginning, not even my final form. You will lose everything Tony Stark. Everything you live for, every_one_ you live for. All gone. Your two friends, your suits, even _her_. All gone."

He didn't stop to hear the rest.

XXXXX

When he got home, Pepper was waiting for him. Of course she was. He slowly got out of the suit and looked at her. He didn't know what to say first, what to do first. Then he saw how red her eyes were.

"Pepper," he murmured as he slowly approached her. He gently rested his calloused hand on her cheek. "I'm so sorry."

She half smiled and shook her head slowly. "Don't be. They needed you."

His face fell. "I failed them. Pepper, I was too late."

She gasped and caught him in a hug. He needed the comfort more than she. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No. It was more of a standoff."

"Did he say anything?"

His eyes tightened. "Jarvis told me not to try the 'Stark Bomb' anymore."

She laughed. "Oh thank God, that was seriously awkward."

"What the hell!" he demanded cursing Jarvis and that one Playboy article .


End file.
